The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) today publishes its consultation paper (CP41) on its draft guidelines on revised Article 3 of the Directive 2006/48/EC (hereafter “Article 3”). The consultation is open to all interested parties, including supervised institutions and other market participants.
Currently, Article 3 allows Member States to provide for special prudential regimes for credit institutions which have been permanently affiliated to a central body since 15 December 1977, provided that those regimes were introduced into national law by 15 December 1979. Those time limits prevent Member States, especially those which acceded to the European Union since 1980, from introducing or maintaining such special prudential regimes for similarly affiliated credit institutions which were set up on their territories.
In order to ensure equal conditions for competition between credit institutions in Member States, Article 3 has been revised and the time limits removed. This means that from 31 December 2010 – the application date of the revised article - all Member States could provide for the special prudential regime, set out in Article 3, for all existing or future affiliated credit institutions that meet the conditions defined in that Article.
This consultation paper sets out CEBS’s draft guidelines on the amended Article 3 as requested in CRD II. The main objective of the draft guidelines is to enhance the convergence of the supervisory practices on the application of Article 3 across Member States. To achieve this objective, the draft guidelines provide clarity on the interpretation and guidance on the application of several aspects of Article 3.
CEBS submits its initial views for a public consultation which starts today and runs until 27 August 2010. CEBS welcomes market participants’ views on the proposals set out in this paper; in particular, on whether its proposals will be sufficient to ensure the convergence of supervisory practices in this area. Comments received will be published on CEBS’s website unless respondents request otherwise. Please send your comments to the following email address:
cp41@c-ebs.org.
The European Banking Authority was established by Regulation (EC) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010. The EBA has officially come into being as of 1 January 2011 and has taken over all existing and ongoing tasks and responsibilities from the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). The EBA acts as a hub and spoke network of EU and national bodies safeguarding public values such as the stability of the financial system, the transparency of markets and financial products and the protection of depositors and investors.